Preview: Firebirds look to weather the Guelph Storm Saturday in Flint
| Guelph Storm at Flint Firebirds | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, Feb. 23 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Flint, Mich. | Dort Federal Event Center (Directions) |
| Tickets | Ticketmaster.com | (810) 744-0580 |
| Promotions | – UAW / United Way Night |
| TV | – Rogers TV ch. 20 / 510 HD Live (Guelph) – OHL Action Pak: Live Rogers ch. 445 & Cogeco ch. 445 (Ontario) – Firebirds’ Broadcast Coverage |
| Video Stream | OHL Live |
| Radio | WQUS 103.1 FM (Flint & Mid-Michigan) | Pregame Show: 6:30p |
| Radio (Mobile) | US 103 App: Android | iPhone/iPad |
| Live Stats | Here |
| NHL Scouts Packet | Here |
| Next Home Game | Friday, March 1st: 4-Pack Friday |
| Social Media | @FlintFirebirds  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
Flint, Mich. – The Firebirds return home to the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center Saturday, Feb. 23. when the club hosts the Guelph Storm. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) for the Firebirds’ 4th-annual United Auto Workers (UAW) / United Way Night.
There are 13 players that have been drafted and/or signed in the NHL between Flint and Guelph’s active rosters, consisting of the Firebirds’ Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes) and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and the Storm’s Sean Durzi (Los Angeles Kings), Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs), MacKenzie Entiwstle (Chicago Blackhawks), Liam Hawel (Dallas Stars), Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadiens), Markus Phillips (Los Angeles Kings), Issac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia Flyers), Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton Oilers), Nate Schnarr (Arizona Coyotes), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens) and Alexey Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues).
Saturday marks the 15th all-time meeting between Flint and Guelph dating back to the Firebirds’ inaugural 2015-16 season. It is the fourth and final contest this season and second and final game against Guelph on home-ice. The Firebirds are 6-6-2-0 overall against the Storm and are 4-3-1-0 vs. Guelph on home-ice in Flint.
Flint’s last game was Monday afternoon against the Storm in front of a sold out crowd of more than 4,700 fans at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph (Watch Highlights). For the second consecutive game, the Firebirds erased a two-goal deficit, coming from behind to tie the contest to force overtime. This time, the Firebirds earned a road point in a 5-4 loss in the extra frame. Flint’s Cody Morgan recorded his first-career OHL hat trick, scoring three goals in the contest. Ethan Keppen recorded a three-point game and Dennis Busby and Jack Wismer earned two-point games. Emanuel Vella made 41 saves on 46 shots.
Most recently for Guelph, the Storm posted a 4-1 victory on home-ice last night led by a hat-trick from Isaac Ratcliffe. Guelph had dropped their past two games before Monday’s overtime winner vs Flint. Guelph is currently in fourth-place in the 10-team Western Conference with a 31-16-6-4 record. The Firebirds are in 10th-place with an 11-43-5-0 record.
On special teams, Guelph has the league’s fourth-best power play, converting on 26.2% of their chances. Flint is scoring at a rate of 14.7% with the man-advantage. When short-handed, the Storm’s penalty-kill (PK) is 13th-best, shutting down the opposition 78.3% of the time. Flint’s PK is operating at 68.7% efficiency, which ranks them 19th in the league.
Promotions:
Saturday is the Firebirds’ 4th-annual United Auto Workers (UAW) / United Way Night. All UAW members will receive a $5 discounted silver level ticket with valid ID at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office. Fans can see two hockey games for the price of one as Team UAW will face-off vs. Team United Way in the annual ‘Live United Game.’ Doors open at 3:45 p.m., the game starts at 4 p.m. and fans must have a ticket to the following Firebirds’ game at 7 p.m. to gain entrance into the ‘Live United’ game.
Then, during the Firebirds’ game, there will be a silent auction for both the UAW and United Way team jerseys and various other items such as a Tom Brady autographed picture and various Detroit Red Wings’ autographed photos to raise money for the United Way. Additionally, all 50-50 and chuck-a-puck proceeds will benefit United Way of Genesee County. United Way is the leadership and support organization for a network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories.
Single game tickets for all Firebirds games are $12 Bronze, $16 Silver, $20 Gold and $26 VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved / assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.
Players to Watch:
Flint Firebirds (11-43-5-0, 5th West Division):
Firebirds’ captain Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) leads Flint in assists (37) and points (56) through 51 games. Alternate captain Jake Durham leads Flint in goals (34) and is second on the Firebirds’ roster with 54 points in 59 games.
The forward line of Ethan Keppen, Cody Morgan and Jack Wismer has been the most productive trio as of late. For the season, Second-year forward Ethan Keppen remains red-hot, now with points in 19 of his last 21 contests. Overall, he ranks third on the squad with 52 points (25G, 27A) through 59 games-played. Cody Morgan ranks fifth in offensive production for Flint with nine goals and 21 assists through 54 total games. With a closer look, it’s easy to see that he has elevated his performance since being acquired by the Firebirds mid-season. The former first-round pick (12th overall) had 21 total points in 63 games a season ago. In 21 games for Flint this year, he has averaged a point per game. After his first career hat trick in Guelph on Monday, Morgan now has seven goals and 14 helpers. Since Dec. 16, Jack Wismer has tallied 25 points (11G, 14A) in 26 games.
Riley McCourt tops Flint’s defensive troops in goals-scored (6), and now has 28 points in 41 games. First-year blue-liner Vladislav Kolyachonok is 11th among all OHL rookies in points-per-game and tops the Firebirds’ freshman class with 27 points (4G, 23A) in 45 games-played.
In net, Luke Cavallin has compiled a 5.50 GAA and a .859 SAV% across 31 appearances. Emanuel Vella holds a 4.81 goals-against average (GAA) and a .876 save percentage (SAV%) in 37 appearances.
NHL: The Firebirds have two players with NHL ties consisting of Dennis Busby (Arizona Coyotes) and Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars). In addition, Luke Cavallin, Kyle Harris, Ethan Keppen, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Eric Uba, Cody Morgan, Emmet Pierce and Jacob Winterton are eight first-time eligible skaters for the upcoming NHL Draft in June. Cavallin, Keppen, Kolyachonok and Uba were among the 50 OHL Players in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings ‘Players to Watch’ list for the upcoming NHL Draft.
Despite Flint playing in just their fourth season in the OHL, Alex Nedeljkovic (Carolina Hurricanes) and Kole Sherwood (Columbus Blue Jackets) are two former Firebirds to play in the NHL. Ty Dellandrea (Dallas Stars) and Vili Saarijarvi (Detroit Red Wings) have played in NHL pre-season contests.
Guelph Storm (31-16-6-4, 2nd Midwest Division):
Nate Schnarr (Arizona Coyotes) is 10th among all OHL skaters and leads Guelph with 82 points (27G, 55A) in 54 games this season. Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens) is on a three-game point streak and is second with 68 points (27G, 41A) in 48 games. Hawel (Dallas Stars) is third with has 32 goals and 34 assists in 55 games. Issac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia Flyers) recorded three-goals last night and now has 64 points (40G, 24A) in 54 games. Sean Durzi leads Guelph on the backend with 32 points (8G, 24A) in 32 games. Danill Chayka leads Guelph’s freshman class with 13 points (5G, 8A) in 46 games.
Former Flint Firebirds defenseman Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs) has six points (2G, 5A) in 20 games with Guelph since leaving Flint.
Between the Pipes, Anthony Popovich has the 12th-best GAA at 3.31 and the 11th-best SAV% at .898. He has appeared in 45 games and is credited with 25 victories. Nico Daws carries a 3.52 GAA with a .885 SAV% through 16 appearances, and has six wins with one shutout.
NHL: Guelph has 11 players with NHL ties, consisting of Sean Durzi (Los Angeles Kings), Fedor Gordeev (Toronto Maple Leafs), MacKenzie Entiwstle (Chicago Blackhawks), Liam Hawel (Dallas Stars), Cam Hillis (Montreal Canadiens), Markus Phillips (Los Angeles Kings), Issac Ratcliffe (Philadelphia Flyers), Dmitri Samorukov (Edmonton Oilers), Nate Schnarr (Arizona Coyotes), Nick Suzuki (Montreal Canadiens), Alexey Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues).
12 notable Guelph Storm skaters to play in the NHL are Craig Anderson, Todd Bertuzzi, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan, Dan Cloutier, Drew Doughty, Aaron Downey, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Girardi, Manny Malhotra and Richard Panik.
Broadcast Coverage:
Saturday evening’s contest can be heard live on the radio throughout Flint & Mid-Michigan on US 103.1 FM, online at www.us103.com or by downloading the US 103 app here. Dominic Hennig will call the play-by-play action with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised live in Guelph on channel 20 / 510 (HD) for Rogers TV cable subscribers. It will also be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak on channel 445 for both Rogers TV and Cogeco TV cable subscribers. OHL fans with cable television in Ontario can add the OHL Action Pak to their television plan to catch the Firebirds in action, home or away all season long. Along with Saturday’s game, 65 of the Firebirds’ 68 games throughout the 2018-19 season are also scheduled to be televised live across the province of Ontario on the OHL Action Pak.
All Flint Firebirds home and away games throughout the 2018-19 season can be watched anywhere in the world online on www.ohllive.com or on the OHL Live app. OHL Live is a league video streaming platform that delivers high quality live and on-demand coverage of all regular season and playoff games annually. The cost is $6.99 per game, $69.99 for Flint Firebirds away games only, $179.99 for all 68 home and away Firebirds games and $279.99 for all 1,360 OHL games throughout the 2018-19 season.
Blue Line Club Menu:
Presented by Great Lakes Sandwich Co & Cafe, Saturday evening’s dinner menu for the Blue Line Club features baked mostaccioli, barbecue chicken, red-skinned potatoes, macaroni and cheese, green beans, garden salad, dinner rolls with butter and assorted desserts. Saturday’s menu is available to all sponsors and season ticket holders for $12 per person. Dinner RSVPs are encouraged by emailing Karla Turner at [email protected].
Next Home Game:
The Firebirds are home this Friday, March 1st for a ‘4 Pack Friday,’ featuring (4) tickets, (4) hot dogs and (4) soft drinks, starting at just $60. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. (ET) against the Kingston Frontenacs.
Single game tickets for all Firebirds games are $12 Bronze, $16 Silver, $20 Gold and $26 VIP seating (Seating Chart). All seats are reserved / assigned seating. Fans can purchase tickets by calling (810) 744-0580, in-person at the Dort Federal Event Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com here.
Photo Credit: Todd Boone / Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
For more information:
Dominic Hennig
Director of Broadcasting & Communications
Flint Firebirds Hockey Club
[email protected]
(810) 519-9347
